Rear Audio Jack Not Working Windows 10

• Rear Audio Jack Not Working Windows 10
• Front Panel Audio Jack Not Working
• Rear Audio Jack Not Working Windows 10 Pro

RE: Front audio jack works but not not rear audio jack Most likely, Win 10 installed a Microsoft generic driver. You didn't say what Dell model. Go to the driver page on the Dell site and look for a Win 8 driver. Of not any or it doesn't work, you need to go to the audio supplier's site and look for one.

Nov 23, 2020 • Filed to: Windows Computer Solutions • Proven solutions

• Page 1 of 2 - Audio not working with Realtek Drivers on Windows 10 - posted in Windows 10 Support: About a couple of weeks ago, I discovered that the audio on my PC wasnt working. My speakers have.
• Hello, I have a new pc with Windows 10 OS. The problem: no sound from headset plugged into audio jack (headset has two jacks one for mic one for speakers). There are jacks in front and rear of the PC. Headset is Steelseries Siberia 200. I tried uninstalling all audio devices from device manager.

As I read this query posted by a friend on a leading Windows forum, I realized that a lot of people encounter audio issues in Windows 10. Although Windows 10 is one of the best firmware versions out there, it can malfunction at times. If your laptop's audio is not working, then it can happen due to a hardware or software-related issue. In this guide, we are going to diagnose the audio problems in Windows 10 and will further discuss 12 ways to fix it.

Part 1: Why is My Audio Not Working in Windows 10?

The following are some of the major reasons for getting the audio not working in the Windows 10 problem.

• The audio jack could be loose or broken
• Your system might not be updated
• Your computer could be running on outdated audio drivers
• Any recent change in your system's settings
• The audio services could have stopped working
• There could be an issue with your microphone or speaker
• Malware could have attacked your system's audio components
• Any other hardware or system configuration issue can also cause this problem

Also, generic audio driver detected issues can also cause audio not working.

Part 2: How to Solve the Audio Not Working Problem?

To fix the Windows audio, not working problems, you can try the following suggestions. Since there could be different reasons for audio issues in Windows 10, I would recommend trying a handful of solutions.

1. Check all the Audio Connections

Before you take any drastic measures, make sure that your system is connected to a working audio device. Check the audio jack first and the headphone connections. Make sure that the headphone cable is working and the jack is not damaged. You can also check the speaker or just connect your system to any other audio device as well to further inspect it.

2. Check for Updates

If your Windows system is running on old or outdated firmware, then it can also make your PC's audio not working. In this case, you can go to your system's Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update. From here, you can check for updates and further install the new update on your Windows 10 PC.

3. Restart your System

Sometimes, even the simplest of methods can fix various audio issues in Windows 10. For instance, if your system has not been initiated properly, then you can just restart it. Also, if you have just updated your system, then it is recommended to restart it once. Just go to the Start menu and click on the power button to get various options, like Restart or Update and Restart.

4. Restart the Windows Audio Services

Windows has a dedicated audio services component that is responsible for playing all kinds of sounds on the system. Therefore, you can just restart the audio services on your system to troubleshoot the computer audio not working. Just go to the Start menu, launch the Run prompt, and enter the 'msc' command.

This will launch the Services window on the screen with a list of all the services running on Windows. Simply browse and select the Windows Audio Services feature, right-click it, and choose to restart it.

5. Run the Automatic Audio Troubleshoot

To make it easier for us to fix issues like audio not working in Windows 10, Microsoft provides a seamless solution to troubleshoot it. You can just go to its setting to run the troubleshooter. This will automatically check all the major audio settings and drivers installed on your system. In the end, it will either fix the issue or would let you know the exact problem. Just go to your systems' Settings > Troubleshoot and run the audio troubleshooter from here.

6. Review the Sound Settings

If you have recently changed some settings in your system, then it can also cause audio problems in Windows 10. Before you take any drastic measures, I would recommend reviewing the sound settings on your computer. Just go to its Settings > Sounds and check if all the features are correct or not. From here, you can also go to the sound control panel to further check the audio components.

7. Check the Default Input and Output for Audio

Ideally, Windows 10 lets us select different options for the audio input and output. Therefore, chances are that you could have opted for any other default option that might not be working presently. If the audio is not working in Windows 10, then go to its Settings > Sound and click on the dropdown menu to choose the default output device. Make sure that the default device is connected and is working properly on your computer.

8. Disable the Audio Enhancements

To provide a better sound experience to users, Windows 10 has an inbuilt feature for audio enhancements. While the feature is meant to improve the device's sound quality, it can cause some complications like the Windows audio not working issue. To avoid this, you can turn off the audio enhancements feature. Just go to your device's Settings > Sounds > Device Properties. Click on the 'Advanced Device Properties' of your speakers from here.

This will display a pop-up window with different advanced properties of the speakers. Go to the 'Enhancements' tab from here and just disable all sound enhancements.

9. Review the Present Audio Format

If your PC's audio is not working, then there can be an issue with its audio format as well. Thankfully, Windows 10 lets us change the audio formats for our system to a compatible one. Just go to Settings > Sound > Device Properties > Advanced Device Properties to get the following pop-up window. Go to its Advanced tab and select a different audio format from here. In most of cases, a 16 or 24-bit audio format is considered compatible with different speakers.

10. Check the IDT High Definition Audio CODEC

The IDT high definition audio CODEC is a vital component in Windows that is responsible for the coding-decoding of its sound. If the HD audio codec has been corrupted or is outdated, then it can cause the computer audio not working issue. You can fix this by visiting the Device Manager option on Windows and selecting the Audio components. In the Sound window, go to the Playback tab and select the IDT High Definition Audio Codec. You can make it as default and further visit its properties to check or update it.

11. Update the Installed Audio Drivers

If you don't want to encounter unwanted audio problems in Windows 10, then make sure that the installed drivers are updated. For this, you can go to the Device Manager from the Start menu and expand the Sound/Video section. This will provide a list of the installed audio drivers on your computer. Simply select a driver, right-click it, and choose to update its software. You can also disable it first, wait for a while, and enable it afterward to reset it as well.

12. Check the App Permissions for Microphone

Apart from speakers, some users also complain that the microphone does not work with certain apps. The cause of these audio issues in Windows 10 could be related to app permissions for the microphone. To resolve this, I would recommend visiting your system's Settings > App Permissions > Microphone. Here, you can see a list of all the applications that require access to the microphone. You can enable or disable the app's permission here and make sure that you have allowed the respective app to access the microphone.

Rear Audio Jack Not Working Windows 10

Part 3: Bonus Tip: Recover Lost/Deleted Audio Files from Computer with Recoverit

While fixing the audio not working in Windows 10 issue, a lot of people end up losing their important files. In this case, you can take the assistance of Recoverit Data Recovery to get back your lost or deleted audio files back. It is a highly recommended data recovery tool that supports all the leading media files, including major audio formats. You can just launch the application, select a location to scan and preview the results. Yes – even before saving your data, you can preview your photos, videos, audios, and documents on its interface. The application has a high data recovery rate and will certainly help you in different data loss scenarios.

Recoverit Data Recovery - The Best File Recovery Software

• Recover corrupted files from the computer, USB hard drive, memory card effectively, safely, and completely.
• Supports to restore corrupted files and loss due to virus attack, the program crashes or computer loses power.
• Recover any data and file types with a high success rate and without any quality loss.
• Supported OS: Windows 10/8/7/XP/Vista, Mac OS 10.13, macOS 10.12, OS X 10.11, 10.10, 10.9, 10.8, 10.7, 10.6.

I'm sure that after reading this guide on how to fix laptop audio not working issue, you would be able to meet your requirements. As you can see, I have listed different ways to fix the Windows audio not working problem that you can implement as per your preferences. Also, if you have lost some of your important audio files, then you can try Recoverit to get them back. Go ahead and try these suggestions and feel free to share this guide with others to help them fix the audio not working issues in Windows 10.

People Also Ask

• Your audio driver may become incompatible with your system after you have updated the Windows OS, hence the need to update the audio driver. You can as well roll it back to its previous version.

• How to fix Windows 10 no audio devices are installed

  If you are experiencing this error, just perform an automatic update of your audio device drivers. You can also uninstall your device driver manually and install it again using the 'Device Manager' window.

• Where is the audio troubleshooting tool in Windows?

  Simply go to Windows start screen and type in 'troubleshooter' in the search field. Under 'Settings', choose the 'Find and Fix problems' tab. Now you can click on 'Hardware and Sound' and select the 'Troubleshoot audio playback' option and let the screen guide lead you.

• How to fix Windows 10 audio services not responding

  The first thing that can work for you is restarting your system's audio services. Next, check that all the audio components of your Windows are properly running. Move on to install the default sound drivers of your system. Any of these should fix the problem.

Computer Data Recovery

Windows PE

System problems

PC Errors

Sound is a crucial part of your laptop or PC. Be it playing audio files, video files, games, using messenger platforms, or anything else, you need your computer's sound quality to be top-notch. And, one of the prime factors which attribute to good sound is audio drivers. Realtek Audio Driver is one of the most common drivers used on Windows 10 laptops and PC. So, if you are dealing with a Realtek audio driver not working on Windows 10, here are some fixes that can help you resolve the issue.

Why Is My Realtek Audio Not Working?

We'll keep this to the point. There are two primary reasons because of which the Realtek audio driver might not be working on your Windows 10. It could be that you have an outdated driver that is not compatible with your Windows 10 version, or you might have to fix Realtek audio drivers which have become corrupted because of an update. There could be other reasons, as well. You can fix Realtek audio drivers using one of the ways mentioned below –

Front Panel Audio Jack Not Working

Ways To Fix 'Realtek Audio Driver Not Working on Windows 10'

Here we will outline the easiest possible ways to fix Realtek audio driver not working on Windows 10. There are manual ways as well as a convenient way using which you will be able to update and fix Realtek audio drivers without hassles –

1. Using Device Manager Uninstall The Driver And Then Reinstall It

As one of the first things to fix Realtek audio drivers not working on your Windows 10 PC or laptop, you can take the device manager's help and then uninstall and reinstall the driver. Here are the steps for the same –

1. Press Windows + R keys to open the Run dialog box
2. In the dialog box, type devmgmt.msc and press enter. This will open the Device Manager window
3. Locate Sound, video, and game controllers
4. Right-click on Realtek High Definition Audio Driver (In this case, it is Conexant SmartAudio HD) and select Uninstall device
5. In the prompt that appears next, check the Delete the driver software for this device and then click on Uninstall
6. Next, go to Realtek's website or better, type Realtek audio driver for Windows 10 in the Google search bar and click on the first result

Rear Audio Jack Not Working Windows 10 Pro

1. Choose driver per your Windows (32 bit or 64 bit) and click on the download icon
2. Follow the on-screen instructions, install the driver and check if you have been able to fix the Realtek Audio drivers issue

2. Update Realtek Audio Driver

• Automatically

You can use an efficient and effective driver updater utility such as Smart Driver Care. It scans your PC for outdated, incompatible, and missing drivers. Once, it facilitates updating drivers with one mere click saving you from the hassle of first searching for the right drivers and then updating/ installing them.

How Is Smart Driver Care A Full Proof Driver Updater?

• Easy to use unintimidating user interface
• It has a huge database of drivers
• Quickly fixes corrupt, outdated, or missing drivers
• Updates drivers
• Before even letting act as a driver, it enables you to create a backup.
• In case of a mishap, you can restore drivers with one click.

Bonus: Smart Driver Care has a dedicated software updater as well.

• Manually

If Realtek audio driver is not working on Windows 10, the chances are that you have an outdated driver. This can be resolved by updating the driver. The steps are similar to the above –

1. Again open the Device Manager using the above steps or simply press Windows key + X and choose Device Manager from the pane
2. Reach and expand Sound, video, and game controllers
3. On the Realtek Audio (In our case, it is Conexant), right-click and choose Update driver
4. In the pop up that appears next, click on Browse my computer for driver software

3. Restore Your Windows 10 System To Previous Point

Just as in the case of any defective software, you can fix the Realtek audio drivers issue by restoring your Windows 10 PC to a previous point. Here are the steps for the same –

1. Press the Win+R keys to open the Run dialog box
2. Type rstrui.exe and press enter
3. Now, pick a Date and Time you want your system to restore to and then click on Next

4. Enable Realtek HD Audio Manager Using Task Manager

Many users have reportedly been able to resolve the 'Realtek audio driver not working on Windows 10' by enabling Realtek HD Audio Manager in the task manager's startup tab. Let's quickly get to the steps-

1. Press Ctrl + Shift + Escape to open the Task Manager.
2. Click on the Startup tab.
3. Look for Realtek HD Audio Manager, right-click on it and then click on Enable.

What should I do if my Task manager is not working? Worry not! Here's how

Conclusion

Hopefully, with the above-mentioned steps, you should resolve the Realtek audio driver not working on Windows 10 with ease and enjoy sound back on your computer. If you have got any suggestions, do let us know in the comment section below. You can stay updated on our content by following us on Facebook and YouTube as well.

Frequently Asked Questions

8. Disable the Audio Enhancements

To provide a better sound experience to users, Windows 10 has an inbuilt feature for audio enhancements. While the feature is meant to improve the device's sound quality, it can cause some complications like the Windows audio not working issue. To avoid this, you can turn off the audio enhancements feature. Just go to your device's Settings > Sounds > Device Properties. Click on the 'Advanced Device Properties' of your speakers from here.

This will display a pop-up window with different advanced properties of the speakers. Go to the 'Enhancements' tab from here and just disable all sound enhancements.

9. Review the Present Audio Format

If your PC's audio is not working, then there can be an issue with its audio format as well. Thankfully, Windows 10 lets us change the audio formats for our system to a compatible one. Just go to Settings > Sound > Device Properties > Advanced Device Properties to get the following pop-up window. Go to its Advanced tab and select a different audio format from here. In most of cases, a 16 or 24-bit audio format is considered compatible with different speakers.

10. Check the IDT High Definition Audio CODEC

The IDT high definition audio CODEC is a vital component in Windows that is responsible for the coding-decoding of its sound. If the HD audio codec has been corrupted or is outdated, then it can cause the computer audio not working issue. You can fix this by visiting the Device Manager option on Windows and selecting the Audio components. In the Sound window, go to the Playback tab and select the IDT High Definition Audio Codec. You can make it as default and further visit its properties to check or update it.

11. Update the Installed Audio Drivers

If you don't want to encounter unwanted audio problems in Windows 10, then make sure that the installed drivers are updated. For this, you can go to the Device Manager from the Start menu and expand the Sound/Video section. This will provide a list of the installed audio drivers on your computer. Simply select a driver, right-click it, and choose to update its software. You can also disable it first, wait for a while, and enable it afterward to reset it as well.

12. Check the App Permissions for Microphone

Apart from speakers, some users also complain that the microphone does not work with certain apps. The cause of these audio issues in Windows 10 could be related to app permissions for the microphone. To resolve this, I would recommend visiting your system's Settings > App Permissions > Microphone. Here, you can see a list of all the applications that require access to the microphone. You can enable or disable the app's permission here and make sure that you have allowed the respective app to access the microphone.

Rear Audio Jack Not Working Windows 10

Part 3: Bonus Tip: Recover Lost/Deleted Audio Files from Computer with Recoverit

While fixing the audio not working in Windows 10 issue, a lot of people end up losing their important files. In this case, you can take the assistance of Recoverit Data Recovery to get back your lost or deleted audio files back. It is a highly recommended data recovery tool that supports all the leading media files, including major audio formats. You can just launch the application, select a location to scan and preview the results. Yes – even before saving your data, you can preview your photos, videos, audios, and documents on its interface. The application has a high data recovery rate and will certainly help you in different data loss scenarios.

Recoverit Data Recovery - The Best File Recovery Software

• Recover corrupted files from the computer, USB hard drive, memory card effectively, safely, and completely.
• Supports to restore corrupted files and loss due to virus attack, the program crashes or computer loses power.
• Recover any data and file types with a high success rate and without any quality loss.
• Supported OS: Windows 10/8/7/XP/Vista, Mac OS 10.13, macOS 10.12, OS X 10.11, 10.10, 10.9, 10.8, 10.7, 10.6.

I'm sure that after reading this guide on how to fix laptop audio not working issue, you would be able to meet your requirements. As you can see, I have listed different ways to fix the Windows audio not working problem that you can implement as per your preferences. Also, if you have lost some of your important audio files, then you can try Recoverit to get them back. Go ahead and try these suggestions and feel free to share this guide with others to help them fix the audio not working issues in Windows 10.

People Also Ask

• Your audio driver may become incompatible with your system after you have updated the Windows OS, hence the need to update the audio driver. You can as well roll it back to its previous version.

• How to fix Windows 10 no audio devices are installed

  If you are experiencing this error, just perform an automatic update of your audio device drivers. You can also uninstall your device driver manually and install it again using the 'Device Manager' window.

• Where is the audio troubleshooting tool in Windows?

  Simply go to Windows start screen and type in 'troubleshooter' in the search field. Under 'Settings', choose the 'Find and Fix problems' tab. Now you can click on 'Hardware and Sound' and select the 'Troubleshoot audio playback' option and let the screen guide lead you.

• How to fix Windows 10 audio services not responding

  The first thing that can work for you is restarting your system's audio services. Next, check that all the audio components of your Windows are properly running. Move on to install the default sound drivers of your system. Any of these should fix the problem.

Computer Data Recovery

Windows PE

System problems

PC Errors

Sound is a crucial part of your laptop or PC. Be it playing audio files, video files, games, using messenger platforms, or anything else, you need your computer's sound quality to be top-notch. And, one of the prime factors which attribute to good sound is audio drivers. Realtek Audio Driver is one of the most common drivers used on Windows 10 laptops and PC. So, if you are dealing with a Realtek audio driver not working on Windows 10, here are some fixes that can help you resolve the issue.

Why Is My Realtek Audio Not Working?

We'll keep this to the point. There are two primary reasons because of which the Realtek audio driver might not be working on your Windows 10. It could be that you have an outdated driver that is not compatible with your Windows 10 version, or you might have to fix Realtek audio drivers which have become corrupted because of an update. There could be other reasons, as well. You can fix Realtek audio drivers using one of the ways mentioned below –

Front Panel Audio Jack Not Working

Ways To Fix 'Realtek Audio Driver Not Working on Windows 10'

Here we will outline the easiest possible ways to fix Realtek audio driver not working on Windows 10. There are manual ways as well as a convenient way using which you will be able to update and fix Realtek audio drivers without hassles –

1. Using Device Manager Uninstall The Driver And Then Reinstall It

As one of the first things to fix Realtek audio drivers not working on your Windows 10 PC or laptop, you can take the device manager's help and then uninstall and reinstall the driver. Here are the steps for the same –

1. Press Windows + R keys to open the Run dialog box
2. In the dialog box, type devmgmt.msc and press enter. This will open the Device Manager window
3. Locate Sound, video, and game controllers
4. Right-click on Realtek High Definition Audio Driver (In this case, it is Conexant SmartAudio HD) and select Uninstall device
5. In the prompt that appears next, check the Delete the driver software for this device and then click on Uninstall
6. Next, go to Realtek's website or better, type Realtek audio driver for Windows 10 in the Google search bar and click on the first result

Rear Audio Jack Not Working Windows 10 Pro

1. Choose driver per your Windows (32 bit or 64 bit) and click on the download icon
2. Follow the on-screen instructions, install the driver and check if you have been able to fix the Realtek Audio drivers issue

2. Update Realtek Audio Driver

• Automatically

You can use an efficient and effective driver updater utility such as Smart Driver Care. It scans your PC for outdated, incompatible, and missing drivers. Once, it facilitates updating drivers with one mere click saving you from the hassle of first searching for the right drivers and then updating/ installing them.

How Is Smart Driver Care A Full Proof Driver Updater?

• Easy to use unintimidating user interface
• It has a huge database of drivers
• Quickly fixes corrupt, outdated, or missing drivers
• Updates drivers
• Before even letting act as a driver, it enables you to create a backup.
• In case of a mishap, you can restore drivers with one click.

Bonus: Smart Driver Care has a dedicated software updater as well.

• Manually

If Realtek audio driver is not working on Windows 10, the chances are that you have an outdated driver. This can be resolved by updating the driver. The steps are similar to the above –

1. Again open the Device Manager using the above steps or simply press Windows key + X and choose Device Manager from the pane
2. Reach and expand Sound, video, and game controllers
3. On the Realtek Audio (In our case, it is Conexant), right-click and choose Update driver
4. In the pop up that appears next, click on Browse my computer for driver software

3. Restore Your Windows 10 System To Previous Point

Just as in the case of any defective software, you can fix the Realtek audio drivers issue by restoring your Windows 10 PC to a previous point. Here are the steps for the same –

1. Press the Win+R keys to open the Run dialog box
2. Type rstrui.exe and press enter
3. Now, pick a Date and Time you want your system to restore to and then click on Next

4. Enable Realtek HD Audio Manager Using Task Manager

Many users have reportedly been able to resolve the 'Realtek audio driver not working on Windows 10' by enabling Realtek HD Audio Manager in the task manager's startup tab. Let's quickly get to the steps-

1. Press Ctrl + Shift + Escape to open the Task Manager.
2. Click on the Startup tab.
3. Look for Realtek HD Audio Manager, right-click on it and then click on Enable.

What should I do if my Task manager is not working? Worry not! Here's how

Conclusion

Hopefully, with the above-mentioned steps, you should resolve the Realtek audio driver not working on Windows 10 with ease and enjoy sound back on your computer. If you have got any suggestions, do let us know in the comment section below. You can stay updated on our content by following us on Facebook and YouTube as well.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Do I Fix My Realtek Audio Driver?

We have outlined some of the most effective ways using which you can fix the Realtek audio driver. Though, updating the driver or uninstalling and then reinstalling it should most possibly fix the issue. For updating the driver, we highly recommend using a driver updater tool like Smart Driver Care.

How Can I Restore The Sound On My Computer?

There are several ways you can restore sound on your computer. Ways include updating your sound drivers, uninstall and reinstall drivers, running the troubleshooter, and many other ways like the ones mentioned here.